Calendar device in wristwatch

ABSTRACT

A CALENDAR DEVICE IN A WRISTWATCH, WHICH IS DESIGNED TO INDICATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DAYS OF THE WEEK AND THE DATES IN EACH CALENDAR MONTH FOR MANY YEARS.

Nov. .23, 1971 TOORU TAKAGI 3,

CALENDAR DEVICE IN WRISTWATCH Filed Oct. 6, 1970 F/GI l- 12' FIG 2 INVENTOR m BY kmplk 3 up,

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,621,648 CALENDAR DEVICE IN WRISTWATCH Tooru Takagi, Kokubunji, Japan, assignor to Orient Watch Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan Filed Oct. 6, 1970, Ser. No. 78,400

Claims priority, application Japan, Apr. 16, 1970,

45/ 36,855 Int. Cl. G04b 19/24 US. CI. 5858 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A calendar device in a wristwatch, which is designed to indicate the relationship between the days of the week and the dates in each calendar month for many years.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present invention relates to a calendar device in a wristwatch, which is so designed as to indicate the relationship between the days of the week and the dates in each calendar month.

Description of the prior art As this type of device, there has been proposed a small calendar plate which has the calendar of only one month printed thereon and is designed to be mounted on a watch strap removably so as to be replaced every month. However, a calendar device in a wristwatch, which is designed to indicate the relationship between the days of the Week and the dates in each calendar month for many years, has not been proposed at all.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide a calendar device in a wristwatch, which is capable of indicating the relationship between the days of the week and the dates in each calendar month by rotatable year and day of the week indicating disc which is rotated by the engaging teeth located backside of the disc and pinion located inside of the watch case combined with the knob, which can be turned manually, located outside of the watch case without giving any hindrance of operation of the; watch movement and which can be used for many years.

According to the present invention, there is provided a calendar device in a wristwatch, which comprises a dial plate having a day of the week indicating window and a year indicating window formed therein and having a date indicating portion and a month indicating portion provided adjacent said day of the week indicating window and said year indicating window respectively, and an operating disc rotatably arranged interior of said dial plate and having thereon a year indicating portion to indicate years through said year indicating window and a day of the week indicating portion to indicate the days of the week through said day of the week indicating window, said operating disc being rotated by engaging the teeth located backside of the said operating disc and the said pinion located inside of the watch case combined with the said knob located outside of the watch case to locate an optionally selected year of said year indicating portion in a position opposite to an optionally selected month of said month indicating portion, whereby a selected section of said day of the week indicating portion is set in register with said date indicating portion, indicating the relationship between the days of the week 3,621,648 Patented Nov. 23, 1971 "ice and the dates of said optionally selected month in said optionally selected year.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 10 designates a case of a wristwatch. A dial plate 11, which is provided with a date window 12 for indicating the date of each day as in the ordinary wristwatch, has a day of the week indicating window 13 and a year indicating window 14 formed therein, each in an arcuate shape peripherally of said dial plate, the inner radius of the former being slightly larger than the outer radius of the latter. The dial plate 11 has a date indicating portion 15 thereon adjacent the day of the week indicating window 13 and the numbers of the dates from 1 to 31 of a month are denoted in sequence in the rotating direction of the hands of the watch in seven columns and a plurality of rows from the top to bottom of said date indicating portion. The dial plate 11 also has a month indicating portion 18 therein adjacent the year indicating window 14', said month indicating portion 18 being divided into seven sections each having one or a plurality of months marked therein. The markings of months on the month indicating portion 18 are arranged such that, for instance, a marking APR, representing the month of April, is located in the third section from a marking MAR representing the month of March, in the direction opposite to the rotating direction of the hands 16, 17. This is because the month of March has 31 days and 3 days remain when the 31 days are divided by 7. The other months are arranged in substantially the same way, but for the months of January and February, white letters JAN and FEB on a black background, for a leap year, are arranged in the manner shown, in addition to black letters of JAN and FEB which are for a common year as are the letters of the other months.

Referringto FIGS. 3 and 4, a circular operating disc 20 is rotatably arranged interior of the dial plate 11. This operating disc 20 has teeth 21 formed on the backside along the periphery thereof, which is in meshing engagement with a pinion 23. A stem of the pinion 23 extends outwardly through the case 10 and a 'knob 22 is provided at the outer end thereof, similar to a stem 30 of the watch. The operating disc 20 has a day of the Week indicating portion 24 thereon which is visible through the day of the week indicating window 13 and has letters representing the days of the week from Sunday to Saturday arranged therein repeatedly in an annular shape in the rotating direction of the hands 16, 17. The operating disc 20 also has a year indicating portion 25 thereon, which is visible through the year indicating window 14 and has the last two numbers of years are arranged in an annular shape in the rotating direction of the hands 16, 17 On the year indicating portion 25, the numbers representing the common years are denoted in black color and arranged in sequence in adjacent relation to each other, each in one section, and the numbers representing leap years are denoted in white color or a black background and one section spaced from the preceding years respectively.

The calendar device in a wristwatch, according to the present invention and constructed as described above, is used in the following manner:

For obtaining the relationship between the days of the week and the dates, for example, of the month of May of the year of 1970, the operating disc 20 is rotated by manipulating the knob 22, which turns the said pinion 2 3 meshingly engaged with the said teeth 31 located backside of the said operating disc 20 to bring the number 70 on the year indicating portion 25 of said operating disc into a position in register with the letter MAY on the month indicating portion 18 of the dial plate 11, as shown in FIG. 1, whereby a selected section of the day of the week indicating portion 24 appears along the upper edge of the date indicating portion 15, indicating the relationship between the days of the week and the dates in the month of May. In case of a leap year, the day of the week to date relationship in the months of said leap year can be obtained in the same manner as described above, except for the case of January and February in which case the number of the leap year on the year indicating portion 25 is set in register with the letters JAN and FEB for leap year on the month indicating portion 18 respectively.

It will be readily understood that, owing to the construction described above, the calendar device according to the present invention can be used for about 20 years or even longer as illustrated in the drawings.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated herein in terms of a preferred embodiment thereof, it should be understood that the invention is not restricted only to the embodiment shown but can be moditfied in many ways within the scope of the invention as set out in the appended claim.

I claim:

1. A calendar device in a wristwatch, comprising a dial plate having a day of the week indicating window and a year indicating window formed therein and having a date indicating portion and a month indicating portion provided adjacent said day of the week indicating window and said year indicating window respectively, and an operating disc rotatably arranged interior of said dial plate and having thereon a year indicating portion to indicate years through said year indicating window and a day of the week indicating portion to indicate the days of the week through said day of the week indicating window, said operating disc being rotated by engaging the teeth located backside of the said operating disc and the said pinion located inside of the watch case combined with the said knob located outside of the watch case to locate an optionally selected year of said year indicating portion in a position opposite to an optionally selected month of said month indicating portion, whereby a selected section of said day of the week indicating portion is set in register with said date indicating portion, indicating the relationship between the days of the week and the dates of said optionally selected month in said optionally selected year.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,906,908 5/1933 Hoffmann 5858 X 1,997,511 4/ 1935 Canepa 5858 2,123,091 7/1938 Becker 585 2,147,280 2/1939 Basler 585 2,358,702 9/1944 Gomez -1 585 2,927,418 3/1960 Bauer 58-5 3,400,510 9/1968 Schwarzer et a1. 584

RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner G. H. MILLER, JR., Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 585 

